BIOLOGICAL SOURCES OF HOMOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR

BIOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
 

1. Bruce Bagemihl, zoological evidence

Among Bonobos (chimps) homosexual pairings account for as much as 50 percent of sexual activity

Humboldt Penguins have homosexual unions that last up to six years

Greylag Geese have homosexual pairings that last virtually a lifetime
 

          Several twin studies that show identical twins of gay men have a 50 percent chance of being gay.
 

4. Dick Swaab, Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, 1995

          BSTc area for transsexuals is smaller than for females
 

5. A Boy Without a Penis
 

CROSS-CULTURAL PREVALENCE OF HOMOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR

1. Ford and Beach, Survey of 76 small, preindustrial societies

          64 percent have some type of acceptable homosexual activity

The second most common pattern is a liason between men or boys who are otherwise heterosexual.
Example: Sambia of New Guinea
 
 

CHANGES IN PERSPECTIVE ON SEXUALITY

Historically Christianity has been highly intolerant of homosexuality

Bible defines homosexuality as a sin

Threat to celibate clergy

Translated into sodomy laws

A major element of the development of modern societies has been the disembedding of individuals from communal, familial, and religious institutions and reduction of patriarchy. These changes have produced greater individuation and fewer behaviors being determined by biological sex The result is a shift from sex-for-reproduction to sex-for-pleasure relationships

Preferred sexual pattern in familially based sex-for-reproduction relationships

Individual must be married to have legitimate sexual relations

Purpose of sexual liaisons must be procreation and the focal act must be vaginal intercourse

There must be two (one male, one female) participants

Birth control is forbidden

Pleasure and satisfaction are incidental

Individually based sex-for-pleasure relationships

Individual need not be married to have legitimate sexual liaisons

Purpose of sexual liaison is rarely procreation, and the focal act may be manual, oral, anal, virtual

There may be more or fewer than two participants, male and female in any combination

Birth control is mandatory

Satisfaction is the preeminent goal

INSTITUTIONAL CHANGES IN ORIENTATION TO HOMOSEXUALITY

Media

1953 Lucille Ball prohibited from using the word pregnant although she and her co-star husband were expecting a baby

1968 Captain James Kirk and Lieut. Uhura engage in the first interracial kiss (coerced by alien Telepathy)

1972 Maude (Bea Arthur) gets an abortion

1991 Murphy Brown (Candice Bergan) decides to become a single mom

1990s Numerous shows with homosexual characters (The Simpsons, Melrose Place, Friends)

1990s Women permitted to kiss on network television (Roseanne, L.A. Law)

1997 Ellen Degeneres "comes out" on national television as the first leading character in a series to avow a homosexual identity

Oprah Winfrey and Demi Moore made supporting appearances on the episode

J.C. Penny and Chrysler discontinued sponsorship of the show

Jerry Falwell responded

Professional and Interest Groups

American Psychiatric Association depathologized homosexuality in 1973 and the World Health Association followed in 1991

Amnesty International agreed to defend individuals imprisoned for homosexuality in 1991

Gay rights organizations

Inception of the gay rights movement with a violent confrontation between New York City Police and the homosexual clientele of the Stonewall Inn on June 28, 1969

The Human Rights Campaign is founded in 1980

National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is admitted to the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights in 1983

More militant gay rights groups form in later 1980s (ACT UP, Queer Nation)

Numerous international gay rights organizations formed and began lobbying for same-sex sexuality as a "human right" (International Lesbian and Gay Association,1978; International Gay and Lesbian Human rights Commission, 1990)

October 7, 1998 -- beating of Matthew Shepard. Died October 12, 1998

Public Opinion Changes

There was increasing liberalism in attitudes toward race relations, women’s rights, equal rights, abortion, civil liberties, divorce, sexual morality between the 1960s and 1980s. Some attitudes became more conservative in the late 1990s.

Most national survey data indicates a decline in the willingness of Americans to restrict the civil liberties of homosexuals

Characteristics of the population associated with negative attitudes toward homosexuality (older, less educated, African Americans, Southerners and Midwesterners, males, residents of small towns, religious fundamentalists)

Characteristics of the population associated with more favorable attitudes toward homosexuality (young, well educated, whites, residents of the Pacific Coast, females, residents of big cities, religious liberals)

Attitudes toward the morality of homosexuality have become more favorable but remain negative. In 1987, 75% of the public reported that homosexuality was always wrong; in 1998 that percentage was 56%.

Attitudes have also varied. They were more liberal in the early 1970s, increasingly conservative through 1990, and more liberal between 1990-2000.

Attitudes toward civil liberties have also become more favorable. In 1973, 39% of the public reported that it would not restrict any civil liberty of homosexuals. in 1998 that percentage was 65 %.

What accounts for the changing attitudes toward homosexuality? Primarily increased education (demographic) and greater support for civil libertarianism (cultural).

Other factors : activism by GLBT communities, dissociation of homosexuality and AIDS, unwillingness to allow the government to legislate morality, other movements made Americans aware of minority discrimination, greater medial attention to gay/lesbian issues.

The public makes a clear distinction between morality and civil rights.

Legal Changes

In 1960, all states had sodomy laws (anal intercourse by a man with a man or woman), but since 1960 37 states have repealed those laws

Between 1984 and 1995 24 nations changed policies sex between men, between women, or both, almost always in a liberalizing direction

In 1996 the federal government passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), defining marriage, for federal purposes as a legal union between one man and one woman. It also allows states to declare void same-sex marriages performed legally in other states

Between 1973 and 2004 38 states have banned same-sex marriage. Some states have moved toward allowing some type of civil union. (See Overhead).

STATE LAWS CHANGES RELATED TO SAME-SEX UNIONS (1973-2004)

MARRIAGE

Thirty eight states banned same-sex marriage between 1973 and 2004

Bans took the form of defining marriage as a solely opposite-sex institution, prohibiting officials who solemnize marriage from performing same-sex marriage ceremonies, or simply prohibiting same-sex marriages (Texas amended the Family code to prevent the issuance of marriage licenses to persons of the same-sex; (2) prevent the recognition or, or declare void, same sex marriages even if performed legally elsewhere (North Carolina); (3) combining these approaches (Arizona prohibits the performance of same sex marriages and voids same-sex marriages)

1973 Texas

1995 Utah

1996 Arizona, Delaware, Geortia, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Okalhoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee

1997 Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota, Missisissippi, Montana, North Dakota, Virginia

1998 Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Washington

1999 Louisiana

2000 California, Colorado, West Virginia

2001 Missouri

2002 Nevada

2004 Ohio

STATES ENACTING UNIONS/PARTNERSHIPS

The Vermont legislature passed the Vermont Civil Union law, which went into effect on July 1, 2000. The law doesn't legalize same-sex marriages but does provide gay and lesbian couples some or the legal advantages (rights to annulment, divorce, child custody, child support, alimony, domestic violence, adoption, and property division; rights to sue for wrongful death and other, loss laws concerning spousal relationships; medical rights such as hospital visitation, notification, and durable power of attorney; family leave benefits; joint state tax filing; property inheritance when one partner dies without a will). Rights under federal law are not included (Social Security benefits, immigration privileges, or the marriage exemption to federal estate tax).

Maine enacted a domestic partnership law offering some limited benefits to registered partners (legal custody in cases of disability, inheritance, and end-of-life issues). Most other marital rights are not included.

Connecticut enacted a civil union law in April, 2005 giving couples who enter into civil unions all of the same rights and responsibilities as spouses under state law.

Massachusetts enacted law providing for same-sex civil marriages. The Massachusetts legislature is currently considering an amendment to the state constitution to forbid marriage between same-sex couples, but the soonest such an amendment could take effect is 2006.

New Jersey enacted a domestic partner law in January, 2004 with some marital benefits (equality with married couples in insurance coverage and medical decision making; option to file joint state tax returns).

Hawaii passed the Reciprocal Beneficiaries law, which provides some marriage-like benefits (hospital visitation rights, the ability to sue for wrongful death, and property and inheritance rights)

California updated its domestic partner law as of January 1, 2005. Registered domestic partners have many of the same rights and obligations as legally married spouses.

PREVALENCE OF HOMOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR

          37 percent of white male population experienced homosexual contact to the point or orgasm

          An additional 13 percent of males reported feeling homosexual urges or desires

          60 percent had engaged in pre-adolescent sex play with another boy
 

Janus Report, 1993

          22 percent of men had homosexual experiences

          17 percent of women had homosexual experiences

          9 percent of men had frequent or ongoing homosexual experiences

          5 percent of women had frequent or ongoing homosexual experiences
 

Batelle Human Affairs Research Center, 1993

          1 percent of men considered themselves exclusively homosexual

          2 percent of men had a homosexual relationship in the last ten years
 

University of Chicago Study, 1994

          2.7 percent of men engaged in homosexual sex in the last year

          1.3 percent of women engaged in homosexual sex in the last year
 

Recent surveys in France, England, Canada, Norway, Denmark

          1 to 4 percent of respondents report exclusively homosexual sexual activity
 
 

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MALE AND FEMALE HOMOSEXUALS

Male homosexuals are likely to have many more partners

Bell and Weinberg, 1978

43 percent of white homosexuals had over 500 partners

33 percent of black homosexuals had over 500 partners

79 percent of white homosexuals more than half the time had partners who were strangers

79 percent of black homosexuals more than half the time had partners who were strangers

Lesbians have fewer relationships, they last longer, and partners are romantically involved

Number of partners for homosexual and heterosexual women is about equal

Half of lesbians had sex with only one partner

10 percent of lesbians had sex with 6 or more partners

Cruising and sex in public places are primarily male forms

Saghir and Robins, 1973

33 to 50 percent of adult male homosexuals had sex in both public and private settings

No female reported ever having sex in a public setting

Male bars are primarily for picking up sex partners

Female bars are primarily for socializing with friends

Male homosexuals begin sexual activity younger than female homosexuals

Saghir and Robins, 1973

Earliest mutual masturbation

Males -- 60 percent 13 or earlier and 15 percent 20 or older

Females -- 9 percent 13 or earlier and 72 percent 20 or older

Earliest oral sexuality

Males -- 24 percent 13 or earlier and 32 percent 20 or older

Females -- 2 percent 13 or earlier and 72 percent 20 or older

Female homosexuals have more heterosexual contact than male homosexuals

Saghir and Robbins, 1973

Males -- 48 percent had intercourse with a woman

Females -- 79 percent had intercourse with a man

Homosexual women were more likely than heterosexual women to have had intercourse

Females awareness of lack of emotional/erotic interest in men came from experience with men

Males were less likely to have sexual experiences with women and defined themselves a gay at a younger age

 

1. Boys must undertake the relationship solely for the purpose of making money

2. Sexual transaction must be limited to adult-boy fellatio

3. Both participants must remain affectively neutral

4. Violence must not be used as long as the relationship conforms to the shared set of expectations
 
 

MALE PRISON HOMOSEXUALITY

Possible Adaptations

Masturbation

Homosexual Activity
 

2. Punks

3. Queens, Fags